Pilot-Scale Unit for Supercritical Water Gasification of Organic Matter

This study describes the construction of an experimental continuous pilot-scale facility for supercritical water gasification of organic matter. The continuous pilot plant (flow rate 1 kg/min) is described in technical detail. The typical course of the heating-up phase of the supercritical loop is discussed, including observed temperature-specific comportment near/beyond the critical point (380-400 degrees C). This specific comportment made it very difficult to switch the loop on to the supercritical conditions. Heat recuperation in the loop equipped with a 12 m tube in the tube heat exchanger reached 67-73%. Finally, the gasification experiments with model compounds confirmed both TOC decrease in water and gas production (hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, higher hydrocarbons). Carbon conversion efficiency reached a maximum of 24% (547 degrees C, 24.5 MPa, 12 s residence time) in the case of propan-2-ol with initial concentration of 41.8 g/L with the addition of 5 g/L of potassium carbonate. [GRAPHICS] .